A tissue-engineered model of the atherosclerotic plaque cap: Toward understanding the role of microcalcifications in plaque rupture

Rupture of the cap of an atherosclerotic plaque can lead to thrombotic cardiovascular events. It has been suggested, through computational models, that the presence of microcalcifications in the atherosclerotic cap can increase the risk of cap rupture. However, the experimental confirmation of this hypothesis is still lacking. In this study,...

A Method to Study the Correlation Between Local Collagen Structure and Mechanical Properties of Atherosclerotic Plaque Fibrous Tissue

The rupture of atherosclerotic plaques in coronary and carotid arteries is the primary cause of fatal cardiovascular events. However, the rupture mechanics of the heterogeneous, highly collagenous plaque tissue, and how this is related to the tissue's fibrous structure, are not known yet. Existing pipelines to study plaque mechanics are...